Yokoji-Zen Mountain Center
The Yokoji-Zen Mountain Center was established in 1982 by Taizan Maezumi Roshi. This beautiful Zen center is located in Southern California, nestled within the San Jacinto Mountains. This center serves people of all ages, religions, races, and nationalities, and is open to anyone who wants to come. This inclusion is part of the philosophy here: anyone can participate in Zen meditation, anyone can follow the Way. Besides this, the Yokoji-Zen Mountain Center is open to visitors for those that simply want a week long stay. Non-members can pay $90/night for food, lodging, and facilities. Group retreats are also available and there is an option to go on a silent meditation retreat for up to 7 days. At this center, koan study as well as Shikantaza are practiced. Koan study refers to deep meditation and reflection on an almost unanswerable question until the answer is achieved. Shikantaza translates to “just sit hit mind”. Shikantaza is the Japanese version of “zazen” which originated in China and involves sitting meditation and reflection into the nature of oneself.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2HDI-jmR50&feature=youtu.be&ab_channel=YokojiZenMountainCenter
In the video linked above, views of the Yokoji-Zen Mountain Center can be seen from both aerial and ground perspectives. It can be seen that this beautiful location is truly submerged in nature, with forests and mountains surrounding quaint wooden lodges and gravel paths. The video also displays some of the meditation practices that go on in Yokoji and demonstrates some of the tools used during meditation.
As revealed by the name, Yokoji-Zen Mountain Center monks practice Zen Buddhism. The school practiced here is Soto-Zen, the same lineage as Caodong Buddhism in China. At this center they define Zen Buddhism as such: “Zen practice is the process of learning how to live one’s life in accord with the teachings of the Buddha; being awake and aware and cultivating the inherently human qualities of wisdom and compassion”. The founders of Soto-Zen are Dogen Zenji and Keizan Zenji. Lineage is traced down from Shakyamuni Buddha and has been passed down through Transmission of the Dharma for hundreds of years. Yokoji is one of the 170 Zen Centers established in North America by American priests. The head temples of this branch of Buddhism are Eiheji of Fukui Prefecture and Sojiji of Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan. These temples were founded by Dogen Zenji and Keizan Zenji respectively. Soto-Zen Buddhism in the United States stemmed primarily from Japanese immigrants but has since shifted to mostly English speaking. Most current residents and visitors seem to be Caucasian. The first North American Soto-Zen influence was brought over 100 years ago by Reverend Hosen Isobe. In North America there are currently five Japanese temples and 170 Zen Centers, one of which is Yokoji. Each of these centers must go through a registration process to get approved by the North American Office, a branch of the two head temples in Japan.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KEUgpdKk1g&feature=youtu.be&ab_channel=YokojiZenMountainCenter
In the video above, students and masters talk about their experiences at Yokoji and how they prefer to practice Soto-Zen. Many students routinely visit for the Sunday zazen program and enjoy listening to teachers speak about the dharma and socializing with the Sangha community. Members can meet with the teacher one on one and are instructed on meditation practices based on their needs. Yokoji holds many events, volunteer work, and sesshins on different types of meditation. There are many residents that stay at Yokoji year-round but many others come to Yokoji anywhere from several times a week to once a year; all are welcome. Many speak of how special Yokoji is and the peace they have found there.
One of the most important teachings of Soto-Zen is the preservation of and harmony with the environment. Soto-Zen teaches five principles of taking care of the Earth:
Protect the green of the earth; the earth is the home of life.
Do not waste water; it is the source of life.
Do not waste fuel or electricity; they are the energy of life.
Keep the air clean; it is the plaza of life.
Coexist with nature; it is the embodiment of Buddha.
The Yokoji-Zen Mountain Center embodies these principles to the fullest extent. All water comes from underground wells and gravity instead of electricity is used to push water into storage containers. All electricity is obtained through solar panels and wind turbines. The monks at Yokoji as well as all those practicing Soto-Zen Buddhism feel that these practices bind them to the land. Relying on the environment for food, water, and electricity fosters a sense of peace and discourages connection to material goods.
Once every year, the Head Priest of Sotoshu, Fukuyama Taiho, gives a central message to his constituents. In 2020, his message was one of compassion and kindness towards other living beings. He urged everyone to treat each other with loving kindness and drove home the point that everyone can follow the path and live in this way: “Every single person, without exception, is a vessel of the Way”. This quote demonstrates the Soto-Zen philosophy that everyone can achieve enlightenment through meditation in the Zen way, despite differing religions, ethnicities, or races.
There is also some influence of the Rinzai school of Buddhism at Yokoji. The community founder, Taizan Maezumi Roshi was taught by masters from both Soto and Rinzai schools and therefore brought influences from both to the table. Taizan Maezumi Roshi was ordained at age 11 and received the Dharma transmission in 1955 at age 24 from master Hakujun Kuroda Roshi. He taught Zen meditation in the United States for 35 years of his life and founded Yokoji in 1982. Some of Taizan Maezumi’s accomplishments include helping to establish the Soto Zen Buddhism Association (SZBA) of American Soto Zen teachers, ordaining 68 Zen priests, and transmitting the Dharma to 12 other monks. Taizan Maezumi Roshi also wrote the book “On Zen Practice” and had the book “Appreciate Your Life” written about him post-mortem. Taizan Maezumi believed in every single person’s worth and ability: “all of us are equally absolute, equally precious, equally splendid, wherever we are at this moment”; he wanted all of his students to find their inner peace and appreciate themselves and their lives for what they are. Taizan Maezumi died peacefully in 1995 at age 64.
The current Abbot of Yokoji is Tenshin Fletcher Roshi. Tenshin Fletcher moved to the United States from England in 1979. In the United States, he studied with Taizan Maezumi Roshi to receive Dharma Transmission in 1994. Of the 300+ Zen priests in North America, Tenshin Fletcher is one of the very few that has been certified in Kokusaifukyoshi which is the title of Official Foreign Representative, bestowed by the Soto-Zen Headquarters in Japan. Tenshin Fletcher authored the book “Way of Zen”, published in 2002 along with his co-author David Keizan Scott Sensei. “Way of Zen” is a detailed history of Zen Buddhism and tracks its existence all over the world. It has caught the attention of many Buddhist teachers across the globe and is used in many instances as a textbook for those learning Zen Buddhism. Tenshin Fletcher is a world-renowned teacher and has led countless students in Zen practices. One of his popular teaching techniques is voice dialog, which is a psychological teaching practice.
The link above connects to a podcast by Abbot Tenshin Fletcher Roshi and records his dharma teaching on “Taking Care of the Self”. The podcast is released weekly; this podcast is from October 21st. Tenshin Fletcher speaks of the suffering of life and how Zen meditation can help that as well as the overall impermanence of life. Fletcher urges us to rid ourselves of the busyness and complexity of life through meditation. Readings from various Buddhist texts are read in English to enhance Tenshin Fletcher’s teaching. These readings mostly take the form of metaphors and parables which are meant to teach by relating to the audience.
The Vice Abbot of Yokoji is currently Jokai Blackwell Sensei. Jokai Blackwell is trained in koan study and received his Dharma Transmission in 2014. He runs a website called “Living Zen” which is full of dharma talks given in podcast form (https://livingzen.com/). Besides podcasts, Vice Abbot Jokai Blackwell Sensei also offers Sunday zoom meetings to talk about the Dharma and meditate together.
Yokoji-Zen Meditation Center is currently closed due to COVID-19. They have not specified when they will re-open but considering the fact that many of those practicing Soto-Zen here are an at-risk population, it may not be for many months.
Works Cited
North America Office: SOTOZEN-NET. global.sotozen-net.or.jp/eng/activity/regional_office/north_america.html.
What’s Sotoshu?: SOTOZEN-NET. global.sotozen- net.or.jp/eng/what/index.html.
Yokoji Zen Mountain Center. zmc.org/.